Social Media Changing the Livestock Marketing Game

Yesterday, I spent the day at the 2010 Red, White and You Conference in St. Peter, MN. This event focused on teen leadership in the legislative process, networking with others, and how to use online social media tools in a professional setting. I've said it a million times before, but new online networks are changing the way the world does business, and beef producers are rapidly catching on and becoming active players in the online marketing game.

One great example is Andy Peterson, founder and operator of LimousinLive, a website featuring video clips of bull sales, cattle shows and other events in the Limousin breed. I had the opportunity to chat with Peterson about his new venture, and he offered some tips and tricks for cattlemen to consider when deciding to make the plunge and advertise using Facebook, blogs, Twitter, YouTube and other venues.

Here is what he had to say: “Social media tools change the game of marketing. These tools allow us to market to our customers in a way we never have been able to before. Becoming a fan of a brand, operation or product on Facebook is a public statement showing support for that company. This will change the way we market our agriculture products."

Peterson said his inspiration came after attending the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver. "Because our flight was set to leave early, I wasn’t able to catch the results of the Limousin show. When I got home, I was dying to know what happened in the championship drive, but there wasn’t any readily available information. That’s where the concept of LimousinLive came to life.

"Word of mouth is the best way to market your products, and social media helps to get people on board and connected with what your business has to offer. Certainly there is a learning curve for these things, and it can be overwhelming for producers to try it out, but my best advice is to just get started," says Peterson.

Peterson certainly offers some great words of wisdom based on his experiences with social networking and marketing livestock. In the past, I have called on you to use these tools to share the agriculture story and educate consumers. This helps to secure the future of our industry. More directly, these tools can be used to push your operation forward and directly market to a new group of producers. Have you used these tools to market your cattle? Is it something you would consider doing?